Sunday, January 17, 2010

How do you go from America's living rooms to solo stardom? Soundcheck's exclusive interview with American Idol stars collectively know as Kradison - Adam Lambert, Allison Iraheta and Kris Allen - discovers three singers on the bring of superstardom. Plus, the scoop on the Idol tour, the "boys hotel", and who worked with whom on their albums.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

American Idol Season 8's Kris Allen and Matt Giraud were members of White Chocolate during Hollywood week last year, along with India Morrison and Season 9 contestant Justin Williams. The foursome performed "Want You Back" by the Jackson 5.

Monday, January 11, 2010

American Idol winner Kris Allen chatted with OK! and shared a story about the last time he sang to his wife and confessed which movie makes him cry — every time!

Last Meal I’d Eat Before I Die
Probably my mom’s chicken spaghetti. And the dessert would be her dump cake. I know, it sounds bad — it’s not really even a cake. You actually use cake batter and throw some nuts on top of it. And there’s fruit in the middle and it has 18 sticks of butter in it. It’s really incredible.

Last Time I Sang To My Wife, Katy
The other night, I was doing country versions of all the songs on the album and she was laughing hysterically. She was telling me that I could never make it in country music.

Last Time I Was Mistaken For Another Celebrity
Driving down the road in L.A., during American Idol, this woman pulls up to me and looks over. I was like, “Maybe she notices me!” And then she said, “David Archuleta!” I don’t think I look like him. Whatever.

Last Time I Saw My Wife, Katy
This morning, when I left the apartment. We are living in L.A. There’s a lot of work to be done in L.A. so we are kind of staying out here right now. We’re not buying a house. I don’t know how smart that would be considering that we don’t know exactly what we’re going to do.

Last Time I was Starstruck
When I was performing at the Miami Dolphins game, I was in Marc Anthony’s suite and he was talking to me, and then he said, “Babe, come over here.” This beautiful creature turns around and it’s Jennifer Lopez. I was trying to play it really cool though.

Last Time I Hung Out with Adam Lambert
Oh man, that’s probably seriously been since the tour. I see him every once in a while here at the office. One day, I was walking down the street, and he was seriously driving down the road. And he yelled at me, we stopped and said hello to each other.

Last Time I Cried
I was in my hotel room in Miami and I started watching Marley & Me again. The first time I watched it, I cried on the plane. Then this time, I was like, “I am going to make it through.” But I didn’t — I cried like a little baby. It’s pretty sad, but it’s a good movie.

Last Romantic Date I Had with Katy
Our idea of romance is a little different from other people’s. Last night, we were tired, but we weren’t ready to go home yet. We drove up to this café that is open 24 hours and just had a small cup of coffee together and just hung out for a while at the coffee shop. We thought that was nice.

Friday, January 8, 2010

There won't be anyone quite like Adam Lambert on the next season of "American Idol."

Easygoing "Idol" judge Randy Jackson told reporters during a Friday teleconference that he expected to see clones of the over-the-top eighth season runner-up or even croony champion Kris Allen show up to audition for the Fox talent competition's ninth season, which premieres Tuesday (8 p.m. EST), but there were none to be found this time around.

"Usually, whoever comes in first or second, that next season of auditions, you have a lot of those kinds of people," he said. "It's almost like a signal to everyone at home that was like them that now it's time to try out for 'American Idol.' It didn't happen like that this time. We got a very interesting, unique cast that's only unique to this season nine."

Jackson, who serves on the judging panel with Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and newcomer Ellen DeGeneres, said audition cities Dallas and Atlanta offered singers with the most starpower while Orlando, Fla., was "really strange" in terms of finding talent. He also said he was on the lookout for female crooners because the past two winners have been male.

"I think there's some really talented girls that showed up this time," he said.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

In a way, the media buzz surrounding Adam Lambert could be a blessing for Kris Allen. Unlike most "American Idol" winners, he's a perpetual underdog who mustn't live up to hype so much as defy reserved expectations. Allen does this with ease on his self-titled debut, continuing in the guitar-driven pop direction he established in the spring while sounding supremely confident. It's a wonder why the song "The Truth" wasn't chosen as the Arkansas singer-songwriter's first single, since it has the kind of anthemic thrust he'll need to please fans while recruiting new ones. The track "Before We Come Undone" boasts one of the album's catchiest hooks, while a Salaam Remi-produced version of his much-praised cover of Kanye West's "Heartless" throbs with a hip-hop backbeat. Allen doesn't straddle genres and octaves like "AI" runner-up Lambert, but he did co-write the majority of his album -- a rarity for an "Idol" -- and he overdelivers on the promise he showed on TV.

ARTIST: ADAM LAMBERT
ALBUM: FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT (19/RCA Records)

It doesn't rewrite (in hot-pink glitter ink) the entire rule book on what a pop record can be. But Adam Lambert's debut album, "For Your Entertainment," is still the most audacious, confident debut yet from a former "American Idol" contestant. And that's not even the best thing about the release, which includes writing and production contributions from a sizable portion of the top 40 A-list. Lambert's vocals were a thing of scenery-chewing wonder on "Idol," and here he successfully showcases the full range of his remarkable instrument, from skyscraping glam-rock sneer ("Music Again") to lush future-soul croon ("Broken Open"). Even when the material doesn't rise to the occasion -- as in the aptly titled "Sleepwalker," penned by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic -- Lambert's singing gives the music a tactile sensuality. Not surprisingly, considering the expectations surrounding the album and its hasty mode of manufacture, "For Your Entertainment" can feel scattered and shallower than it should. Even so, it practically vibrates with pleasure.